Pasadena begins to install new way-finding signs throughout city

PASADENA -- City crews have started putting up more than 350 directional signs around town in a $2.2 million project to help pedestrians, business travelers and motorists find Pasadena's key destinations, attractions and parking.

The new way-finding signs, which come in various sizes and are intended to give a welcoming touch, should ultimately help stimulate economic development in the cash-strapped city, officials said.

"(Pasadena) is a destination for so many reasons," City manager Michael Beck said. "And it's an opportunity to highlight and promote the public assets that exist within the city and facilitate allowing people to move around the community more effectively. "

Most of the project is being funded by Proposition C monies from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, with about $512,000 coming from matching city funds, officials said.

While the city already had some way-finding signs, now being removed, there was not the uniform "brand" design or consistent presentation that the new signs offer, Beck said.

The color-coordinated signs will have arrows to mark major destinations and the same Craftsman-style rose graphic long used by the Pasadena Center Operating Co., which manages the Pasadena Convention Center.

The aluminum signs are also intended to lead the public into distinct parts of the city, including Old Pasadena, the Civic Center, the Playhouse District, East Pasadena, Hastings Ranch, North Pasadena, the Arroyo Seco and South Lake Avenue. Major landmarks such as the Rose Bowl, the Norton Simon Museum, Caltech, City Hall, the Pasadena Convention Center and the Pacific Asia Museum will also be marked.

Councilwoman Margaret McAustin said the city currently has many different types of signs and she believes that having more unified signage will promote "a message of certainty" in the city.

Paul Little, president and CEO of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, said the signs should benefit the city's businesses, including restaurants, since so many of them are located in districts and other areas that visitors may need help locating.

"The way-finding stuff makes sense in a city like Pasadena where folks are always asking those questions: how do I find Pasadena City College (or) where is the Playhouse District?" he said.

Meghan and Jonathan Fink, co-owners of the Pasadena Sandwich Company on Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, said they love the large sign that was recently put up in front of their shop, directing visitors to Hastings Ranch to the east and the Playhouse, South Lake Avenue and Old Pasadena districts to the west.

"I think they're awesome; they give Pasadena that small-town feel but also we know that we get a lot of visitors," Meghan Fink said. "It directs out-of-towners to the local places. "